We are well into the lazy days of summer and maybe the heat wave has you feeling less than motivated to tackle that growing to-do list. And that’s OK.

Being organized means that you can find the things you need, when you need them. It says nothing, though, about your closet looking ready for a photo-shoot for the pages of a home décor magazine. It says nothing about taking care of household tasks like a TV personality. It says nothing about the number of papers permitted on your desktop. So, let yourself off the hook a little!

My “office” is just a corner of our living room. It can be distracting to live and work in the same space. I wanted to define that corner in some way so when I sit down at my desk, my attention turns to Chaos Theory, and Chaos Theory alone. My solution — a vision board.

So what’s up there? That long handwritten page you see in the middle is actually two lists:

What do I want? This is the big picture stuff – the loftier, longer term goals like “be recognized as an expert in the organizing industry” and “get my BCPO Certification.”

How do I get there? These are actions I can take right now which will bring me one step closer to those aspirations. Here, I’ve listed things like “start the blog, pitch to media to showcase expertise,” and “read 2 recommended organizing books from the CPO list per month as I build up my client hours.”

My marketing materials are scattered around the board (both sides of my business card, the text and pictures from my brochure), serving as a constant reminder of the Chaos Theory brand as well as crucial talking points for potential client phone calls.

So, you could say those are the “functional” aspects of my board. Then, I’ve got the more fun aspects – my nametag from this year’s NAPO National Conference, quotes about organizing that inspire me (A professional organizer is better than therapy – she makes housecalls and you see results after just one session), a few magazine clippings and pictures with RB (because Chaos Theory simply could not exist without his support!)

There has been a lot written about vision boards and laws of attraction and The Secret. Personally, I don’t totally ascribe to all of that. For me, my vision board is simply a daily reminder of what I want for my business and how I plan to get there. Plus, it was super-fun to make.

If collages aren’t your thing – keep it simple! Write down your goals – business, organizing or otherwise. Display the list somewhere you’ll see it everyday. Let the daily reminder inspire you to take strides in the right directions.